When festivities at your maternal home becomes special

I am back after a good two week vacation. This year, due to a death in my husband's family, there are no celebrations there. So we decided to spend Navaratri with my family.
This meant, travelling to a different country and to a small town in India. Well.......we were game.

I have spent several navaratris with my family before.......but post wedding and kids, I have never spent an entire festival with them. Had anything changed? Well, technically no......there was still the kolu, the sumangali puja, the Kanya puja and the vidyarambam; but for me, it was a whole new experience. I realized that I had my own version of my pujas now, by adapting a totally new way of celebrating, incorporating practices from my husband's home with my own. And this was a refresher for me.

Seeing the entire town smeared with cow dung paste and bright white kolams brought back old memories......lost somewhere in my subconsciousness. The mamis all in madisar and pattu sarees made me take out my own pattu saree and jewelry and deck my self sans make up, just bindi, kajal and my Jhimiki. The sundals all tasted wonderful, made by my mom. I wondered if mom had a special recipee. But no, it was just her way of making it that made it special. A homam on the Vijayadashami day and a wonderful Dusshera lunch with vadai paysam made it a very very special festival indeed. But the best part was seeing the smiling face of my parents...for having shared their festival with the grandkids and passing on something that the kids will always remember!

 

Thank u aunty...I read ur posts on navaratri....I hope you will live to spend more festivals with ur loved ones!